30 DAY CHALLENGE – Day 7

Posted on October 7, 2013 by cleopatra

Day 7 – A Book That Makes You Laugh

Okay, it’s time to unveil a really obscure book for this challenge day!

Cyrano by Geraldine McCaughrean is a retelling of the play based on the life of the well-known historical figure, Cyrano de Bergerac.

Cyrano, a swashbuckling soldier who is a master of words, meets and falls in love with the beautiful Roxanne. Unfortunately Roxanne has given her heart to another man and, to his dismay, Cyrano ends up helping his rival write romantic love letters to his sweetheart. Cyrano yearns to win Roxanne’s love but his enormous nose gets in the way.

While this book is sweet, poignant and, at times, sad, there were parts where I laughed my head off and overall, I couldn’t put it down.

This book was shortlisted for the Carnegie Award in 2007.

30 DAY CHALLENGE – Day 6

Posted on October 6, 2013 by cleopatra

Day 6 – A Book That Makes You Sad

(Big Spoiler Alert – If you haven’t read Rilla of Ingleside and want the story to be a surprise, don’t read any further!)

I could pick a number of books for this challenge and I’ve decided to pick two! My first choice is:

This book came immediately to mind because I am presently reading it. Because it is set during the First World War, the reader is able to look into a family and a community, and see how the war affected them on an on-going basis. This was actually fascinating and made me better understand people’s willingness to fight for freedom and the continuation of the life they valued. There weren’t misguided; they truly felt that they were preserving a way of life that was more valuable to them than their individual lives, sacrificing themselves for others.

However noble their actions were, it was truly sad when one of Anne’s children was killed. While I wished for the “happy-ending” in this last book of the series, I was glad that Montgomery chose to make it realistic. It brought home the realities of war in a way that was very effective.

My next choice is:

A story of an “outlier” priest in France, who does not conform to the expectations of society or of his religious colleagues. He attempts to fulfill his job to the best of his abilities but is continually misunderstood and, at times, undermined by the people of his community. The priest’s “aloneness” and his inability to share his feelings of inadequacy and suffering, drew me right into his story. Very sad, but very worthwhile reading!

TBR Challenge – Checking In

Posted on October 6, 2013 by cleopatra

2013 TBR CHALLENGE

I don’t know why it is so hard for me to read books which are sitting on my bookshelves. They stare at me as if begging me to read them. I am continually reminded of their presence. Almost all of them are well-written classics or near-classics, yet I often choose a book that I don’t own. Enter the TBR challenge.

Last year I read 34 books from my shelves; this year I have no idea how many I’ve read so I thought it would be a good idea to check in with myself! This is the list so far:

1. The Divine Comedy – Dante
2. Cautionary Tales for Children – Hillaire Belloc
3. Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
4. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
5. At the Back of the North Wind – George MacDonald
6. Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
7. Anne of Avonlea – L.M. Montgomery
8. I Capture the Castle – Dodie Smith
9. Middlemarch – George Eliot
10. Moonfleet – John Meade Faulkner
11. Anne of the Island – L.M. Montgomery
12. Anne of the Windy Poplars – L.M. Montgomery
13. Anne’s House of Dreams – L.M. Montgomery
14. Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
15. Anne of Ingleside – L.M. Montgomery
16. The Black Tulip – Alexandre Dumas
17. Rainbow Valley – L.M. Montgomery
18. Dombey and Son – Charles Dickens
19. Beowulf

Hmmmm ……….. not quite the same pace as last year but I am glad I’m getting through all the “Anne” books, of which previously, I had only read the first two. In any case, it’s a much better pace than the approximately 4 per year which I used to cover. I’m impressed!

30 DAY CHALLENGE – Day 5

Posted on October 6, 2013 by cleopatra

Day 5 – A Book That Makes You Happy

Usually my first criteria for choosing a book is not for the fact that it will make me happy. I look for a well-written book that will expand life for me, and impart some sort of wisdom or life lesson. That said, I occasionally come across books that leave a happy kind of feeling and I Capture the Castle was one of those books.

Written by Dodie Smith of 101 Dalmations fame, this book is narrated by Cassandra, a witty and whimsical teenager who lives in a castle with her father, Mortmain, a one-book-wonder author, her stepmother, Topaz, a young model and her sister, Rose, who tends to have a blighted view of life and the circumstances in which they find themselves. Cassandra’s view of her unusual life is so fresh and naive, yet is touched with such wit and vivacity, that you can’t help but be pulled into her world.
So for a “feel good” novel that imparts wisdom as well, I Capture the Castle, can’t be beat!

30 DAY CHALLENGE – Day 4

Posted on October 4, 2013 by cleopatra

Day 4 – Favourite Book of Your Favourite Series

Admittedly I have not read the complete Swallows and Amazons series yet, but to-date, my favourite of the first six is Swallows and Amazons.

John, Susan, Titty and Roger get permission to camp on an island for their summer vacation and oh, what exciting adventures they have!

A near perfect vacation adventure story for children, complete with camping, sailing, pirates, and buried treasure, but most importantly, a meeting of new friends.

A classic for children that will not disappoint!

BEOWULF – translated by Seamus Heaney

Posted on October 4, 2013 by cleopatra

The first time I read this poem was for a university class and I was not looking forward to the gore, blood and general epic hero story. In retrospect, how fortunate I was to be forced to read it because Beowulf immediately became one of my absolute favourites!

Hrothgar, king of the Danes, is being harassed and attacked by the monster, Grendel, a son of Cain, who trashes his precious hall and eats his warriors. No one is able to combat such evil until Beowulf arrives, determined to repay an old debt. He defeats the monster, and later Grendel’s mother who comes for revenge.

The story is quite riveting but it is the underlying behaviour of these pagan warriors living in a blood-feud society, which points to a different theme from the usual pagan story. Beowulf is strong and brave, and is drawn by the lure of spoils, yet he shows moments of kindness, consideration and a propensity not to accept power or prestige if it goes against what he thinks is right.

Tolkien in his essay, The Monster and the Critics, tends to think this poem shows the advent of Christianity and the beginning effects which it had on a pagan culture. I would tend to agree. There is certainly a Christian theme, yet it does not appear the religion is being forced upon the culture (or upon the reader), just a gentle and slow changing of perception and behaviour.

A few of my favourite quotes from the book:

Perhaps the goriest:

” ….. struck suddenly and started in; he grabbed and mauled a man on his bench, bit into his bone-lappings, bolted down his blood and gorged on him in lumps, leaving the body utterly lifeless, eaten up hand and foot …”

the most poignant:

” …. And so the good and grey-haired Dane, that high-born king, kissed Beowulf and embraced his neck, then broke down in sudden tears. Two forebodings disturbed him in his wisdom, but one was stronger: nevermore would they meet each other face to face. And such was his affection that he could not help being overcome: his fondness for the man was so deep-founded, it warmed his heart and wound the heartstrings tight in his breast ……”

and a good lesson for life: